Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)

Tyrone
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1801 (1801)–1885 (1885)
Number of members	Two
Replaced by	East Tyrone, Mid Tyrone, North Tyrone and South Tyrone

Tyrone is a former UK Parliament constituency in Ireland, returning two Members of Parliament.

Boundaries and Boundary Changes

This constituency comprised the whole of County Tyrone, except the Parliamentary borough of Dungannon.

It returned two MPs 1801-1885. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was created on 1 January 1801.

In the redistribution, which took effect in 1885, County Tyrone was divided into four single-member constituencies; East Tyrone, Mid Tyrone, North Tyrone and South Tyrone.

Politics

The constituency electorate was predominantly Tory/Conservative during most of this period.

Catholics were excluded from qualifying as voters until 1793 and taking seats in Parliament until 1829 and there was a restrictive property based franchise. It was not until the electoral reforms which took effect in 1885 that most adult males became voters. See Catholic emancipation for further details.

In these circumstances most Members of Parliament came from a limited number of Protestant aristocratic and gentry families. There were few contested elections.

It was only in 1880, at the end of the period when this constituency existed, that the Liberals first won a seat from the area.

Members of Parliament

Election	First MP				Second MP
	Name		Born	Died	Name		Born	Died
1801 co-option		Viscount Corry (Tory)[1]	11 July 1774	18 April 1841		James Stewart (affiliation uncertain)	1742	18 January 1821
1802 by-election		Rt Hon John Stewart (Tory)[2]	ca 1758	22 June 1825
1806		Hon Thomas Knox (Ind)[3]	5 August 1754	26 April 1840
1812		Rt Hon John Stewart, Bt (Tory)	ca 1758	22 June 1825		Hon Thomas Knox (Tory)[4]	19 April 1786	21 March 1858
1818						William Stewart (Whig)	1780	ca October 1850
1825 by-election		Rt Hon Henry Thomas Lowry Corry (Tory, Con, Peelite)	9 March 1803	6 March 1873
1830						Sir Hugh Stewart, Bt (Tory)	14 May 1792	19 November 1854
1835						Lord Claud Hamilton (Con)	27 July 1813	3 June 1884
1837						Viscount Alexander (Con)	27 July 1812	30 June 1855
1839 by-election						Rt Hon Lord Claud Hamilton (Con, Peelite)	27 July 1813	3 June 1884
1847
1852 by-election
1873 by-election		Hon Henry William Lowry Corry (Con)	30 June 1845	6 May 1927
1874						John Ellison-Macartney (Con)	1818	13 February 1904
1880		Edward Falconer Litton (Lib)	1827	27 November 1890
1881 by-election		Thomas Alexander Dickson (Lib)	1833	17 June 1909
1885	Constituency partitioned into East, Mid, North and South parts by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.

Notes:

• Stooks Smith does not specify any party allegiances for this constituency before 1818. This does not necessarily mean that the MPs were not associated with a Party in Parliament.
• From 1832 Lowry-Corry and Stewart are classified as Conservatives.
• In 1847 Lowry-Corry and Hamilton contested the general election as Peelite Liberal Conservatives, but were again Conservatives by 1852.

Elections

The single-member elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system. Multi-member elections used the Plurality-at-large voting system.

There was no election in 1801. The representatives of the county in the former Parliament of Ireland became members of the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom.

After 1832, when registration of voters was introduced, a turnout figure is given for contested elections. In two-member elections this is calculated by dividing the number of votes by two. To the extent that voters did not use both their votes this will be an underestimate of turnout. If the electorate figure is unknown the last known electorate figure is used to provide an estimate of turnout.

Where a party had more than one candidate in one or both of a pair of successive elections change is calculated for each individual candidate, otherwise change is based on the party vote.

Co-option 1 January 1801: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	James Stewart	Co-opted	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Viscount Corry	Co-opted	N/A	N/A

• Corry succeeded as 2nd Earl Belmore

By-Election 1 March 1802: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Rt Hon. John Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 19 July 1802: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	James Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Rt Hon. John Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 18 November 1806: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	James Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Hon. Thomas Knox	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 25 May 1807: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	James Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Hon. Thomas Knox	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 20 October 1812: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Non Partisan	Thomas Knox	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Non Partisan	Rt Hon. Sir John Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 1 July 1818: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Rt Hon. Sir John Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	William Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 22 March 1820: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Rt Hon. Sir John Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Whig	William Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Rt Hon. Sir John Stewart, Bt

By-Election 27 June 1825: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 20 June 1826: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	William Stewart	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 9 August 1830: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Sir Hugh Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 14 May 1831: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Tory	Sir Hugh Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 17 December 1832: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Hugh Stewart, Bt	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 20 January 1835: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord Claud Hamilton	1,057	47.81	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	627	28.36	N/A
	Conservative	Viscount Alexander	510	23.07	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Eccles	17	0.77	N/A
Turnout			1,250	88.44	N/A

General Election 7 August 1837: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Viscount Alexander	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Alexander succeeded as 3rd Earl of Caledon

By-Election 6 May 1839: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lord Claud Hamilton	223	73.11	N/A
	Conservative	Major Humphreys	81	26.56	N/A
	Independent	James Alexander Boyle	1	0.33	N/A
Majority			142	46.56	N/A
Turnout			2,602 (1837)	11.72	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 9 July 1841: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Appointment of Lowry Corry as Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty

By-Election 23 September 1841: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 10 August 1847: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peelite	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Peelite	Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Appointment of Hamilton as Treasurer of the Household

By-Election 12 March 1852: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 29 July 1852: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	3,271	43.77	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	3,221	43.10	N/A
	Liberal	Brabazon Hugh Higgins	982	13.14	N/A
Turnout			5,692	65.65	N/A

General Election 4 April 1857: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Appointment of Hamilton as Treasurer of the Household

By-Election 11 March 1858: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 10 May 1859: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

General Election 18 July 1865: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Appointment of Lowry Corry as Vice-President of the Committee of the Council for Education

By-Election 18 July 1866: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

• Appointment of Hamilton as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household

By-Election 20 July 1866: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 24 November 1868: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Henry Thomas Lowry Corry	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A

• Death of Lowry Corry

By-Election 16 April 1873: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hon. Henry William Lowry Corry	3,139	50.29	N/A
	Conservative	John William Ellison Macartney	3,103	49.71	N/A
Majority			36	0.58	N/A
Turnout			8,643	72.22	N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 11 February 1874: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John William Ellison Macartney	4,710	44.30	-5.31
	Conservative	Hon. Henry William Lowry Corry	3,171	29.82	-20.47
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	2,752	25.88	+25.88
Turnout			8,883	59.85	-12.37

General Election 8 April 1880: Tyrone (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John William Ellison Macartney	3,829	35.42	-8.88
	Liberal	Edward Falconer Litton	3,511	32.48	+32.48
	Conservative	Rt Hon. Lord Claud Hamilton	3,470	32.10	+6.22
Turnout			8,762	61.69	+1.84

• Litton appointed Land Commissioner

By-Election 7 September 1881: Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Alexander Dickson	3,168	44.25	+11.77
	Conservative	Hon. William Stuart Knox	3,084	43.08	+43.08
	Home Rule	Rev. Harold Rylett	907	12.67	+12.67
Majority			84	1.17	N/A
Turnout			8,674	82.53	+20.84
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

References

1. ^ Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl of Belmore, ThePeerage.com
2. ^ Was Attorney-General for Ireland under Tory Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger and architect of the Act of Union 1800
3. ^ Earl of Ranfurly, Cracroft's Peerage
4. ^ Earl of Ranfurly, Cracroft's Peerage

Sources

• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844–50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)

See also

• List of UK Parliamentary constituencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland